In 1983, “Valley Girl” captured the class divide between the residents of the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood. The musical remake — now available on-demand — follows the same plot and setting. But remake director Rachel Lee Goldenberg and production designer Theresa Guleserian had a challenge the original crew didn’t: creating an accurate and cohesive ’80s look nearly 40 years removed from the decade.

“Finding the locations was half the battle,” Goldenberg told TheWrap. Shot entirely in Southern California, some of the locales didn’t need too much work: beach scenes were shot at Newport’s Balboa Pier, and a dreamy sequence between Valley good girl Julie (Jessica Rothe) and Hollywood bad boy Randy (Josh Whitehouse) took place at the classic Griffith Park merry-go-round.

But what about that ’80s institution: the shopping mall? Sure, malls still exist, but with the proliferation of online shopping, brick and mortar malls are no longer the social and commercial hubs they once were. Location manager Kristi Frankenheimer found a shopping mall in Woodland Hills slated for demolition for the film’s big opening scene and musical number. It was then up to Guleserian and set decorator Shauna Aronson to turn back the clock to a time when stores like Esprit and The Limited (both name-dropped in “Valley Girl”) were go-to’s.

Setting the color palette was the first step.

“No matter what project I do, I use the color palette to tell the story and to keep the narrative clear for the audience,” Gulesarian explained. “With something like this, where you have two extremely distinct environments and two very different characters and that’s the crux of everything — how much they’re different and how much they love each other — it was really fun to do a color palette for each of them and keep the whole crew committed to them.”

“Randy’s world was all blacks, greys, rust and red. And then for Julie’s world, we had lilacs, dusty rose pink, a lot of pinks and a little bit of turquoise.”

Since wardrobe really established the time and setting, the production team spent a lot of time researching clothing. “We did a deep dive into family photo albums you can find online, like Flickr pages from random strangers from Missouri that are labeled 1984. And you look through entire family’s years of the era,” Guleserian explained. “You start pulling all that stuff and see those trends. Everyone’s family had the kid who’s wearing the turquoise tank and you’re like, ‘OK great, we know that’s right.’ That’s how we built it up.”

As for the stores themselves, Guleserian reached out to retailers, who provided images of their logos and sometimes even store interiors. Aronson then painstakingly re-created them, down to the plastic hangers and teeny-bopper posters. Many of the clothes on the mannequins were created because she wanted to get them right and multiples were needed for the racks.

A look at the big opening musical number (Photo credit: Orion Classics)

While the store interiors were important during close-ups, the exterior storefronts served as a backdrop for the big musical number, complete with background dancers on multiple levels and yes, an ’80s balloon drop.

“We had to be really specific with our angles,” director Goldenberg explained, as only five stores had been redecorated. “The idea was to make it as shootable as possible.”

“The dance was extremely choreographed — like inch by inch,” Guleserian recalled. “We built the fountain exactly to the specs so they could dance up the steps and not hurt themselves. Was the spray in the fountain going to affect their dancing? We needed to make it didn’t spray too much but still was effective on camera. Was the balloon drop centered on camera? Even the dance down the escalator; knowing how many steps it would take for [the extras] to get to their marks and map out what facades they’d dance in front of.”

It’s that attention to detail that added to the authenticity, not just for the mall scene but every musical number in the movie.

Check out the trailer below for a sneak peek at big “Valley Girl” shopping mall scene. “Valley Girl” is available on-demand now.

10 TV Shows to Watch if You're Obsessed With the '80s (Photos)

“The Eighties” reigns supreme among all of CNN’s decade-centric specials (sorry, “Nineties”). Those who were alive in the 1980s will remember leg warmers, inline skates and so much more. Thanks to the magic of TV, even ‘90s and 2000s kids can experience these things. Whether you fondly look back on the decade, or you wish you had been born 10 or 20 years earlier, these 10 TV shows will surely fuel your ‘80s obsession.

NBC/Netflix/ABC & Eric McCandless

"GLOW" (2017)

The characters may be fictional, but "GLOW" is very much real. This Netflix comedy tells the (lightly fictionalized) story of the women who starred in the cult-hit all-female pro wrestling TV show GLOW (“Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling”) that aired for four seasons in the 80s.

Netflix

"Freaks and Geeks" (1999)

Before “Bloodline,” Linda Cardellini starred in “Freaks and Geeks” alongside James Franco, Jason Segal and Seth Rogen. Cardellini’s character, Lindsay Weir, tries to shed her goody-two-shoes image and hang with the rebellious “freaks,” often running into trouble.

Dreamworks

"Stranger Things" (2016)

Set in 1980s Indiana, science fiction/horror-thriller “Stranger Things” plays on many cultural elements of the decade, such as Stephen King novels and Spielberg films like "E.T."

"Everybody Hates Chris"

This autobiographical sitcom is based on comedian Chris Rock’s 1980s adolescence in Brooklyn. A young Chris (played by Tyler James Williams) must navigate a predominately white school, look after his siblings, and try to keep his tough parents happy.

Richard Cartwright/CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

"The Goldbergs" (2013)

Another show based on its creator’s childhood, “The Goldbergs,” is set in a small Pennsylvania town in the 1980s. The show leans hard on the decade's most awkward elements, like tracksuits and hideous matching outfits.

ABC/Eric McCandless

"The Americans" (2013)

This Cold War-set drama stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as Soviet spies posing as a normal American couple in the D.C.-area. It was created and produced by former CIA officer Joe Weisberg and inspired by some of his real-life experiences.

FX

"Snowfall" (2017)

This crime drama from John Singleton explores the origins of the Los Angeles 1980s crack epidemic. It premiered July 5 on FX.

Matthias Clamer/FX

"This Is Us" (2016)

“This Is Us” takes place only partially in the ‘80s, but it still counts. The non-linear time sequence touches on the past and present of the lives of three siblings (two biological and one adopted). The second season of the series will air on NBC on September 26.

"Robot Jones" (2002)

The Cartoon Network show follows a teenage robot named Jones who has to navigate human life in a futuristic 1980s middle school. The show’s blocky artwork is a nod to old school cel animation techniques.

Cartoon Network/YouTube

"Halt and Catch Fire" (2014)

This cult hit AMC series tracks the personal computer revolution of the ‘80s. The personal computers in question, however, are a lot clunkier than the dainty, portable ones we use today.

1 of 11

These ’80s-centric shows were actually made post-1980s

“The Eighties” reigns supreme among all of CNN’s decade-centric specials (sorry, “Nineties”). Those who were alive in the 1980s will remember leg warmers, inline skates and so much more. Thanks to the magic of TV, even ‘90s and 2000s kids can experience these things. Whether you fondly look back on the decade, or you wish you had been born 10 or 20 years earlier, these 10 TV shows will surely fuel your ‘80s obsession.